Genesis 5:1-2 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
There is a family of Adam to which we all naturally belong.
Ephesians 3:14-15 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.
There is another family—the family of God. Which name is your surname?
These passages reveal something about each of us. We all have a name. Our surname signifies which family we belong to. Our full signature is required on all legal documents. It belongs to us and is individual just like our fingerprints and DNA. Our first name is a special identity given by our parents. There are other Bob Surber’s, but we’re all different. You are a made person. God threw away the mold when he made each of us. Surber is my surname, is the name of my father; it’s my family name. Our first name means little without our last name. That means we have parents. We weren’t hatched and didn’t come from aliens. Our last name lets us know we are a product of our parent’s commitment to each other. There is no such thing as a stork bringing a baby. There are dads and moms which resulted in you and me. We did not evolve. We are not animals. God spoke animals into being during creation, but he took the dust of the earth and created man. He breathed into him the breath of life and he became like nothing else—a living soul. From the rib of Adam, God created Eve. The human race began with the surname of Adam.
Because of disobedience to God, they fell away from God by their sin. We’re all born with that Adam nature. As children we are innocent, but we are sinners by nature because of our family background with Adam. The time comes when the innocence is replaced by accountability with God.
There was no poof that brought us here. We were procreated. You don’t evolve humanly, and you don’t evolve spiritually from a bad person to a good one. Realize you are fallen. The Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You’re not an accident. We’re here by the purpose of God. When we were conceived, God had a purpose for our life.
In chapter three of John a man named Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. He wore the clothing of the religious, but underneath it he knew it was not good enough to face God. Nicodemus didn’t go to the priests; he went to Jesus. He knew Jesus was from God. Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus was except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus responded by asking how he could enter into his mother’s womb a second time. Jesus explained it to him. The first time you’re born it is of the flesh of the parents who descended from Adam. With that came the marks of the curse of man. Jesus told Nicodemus not to marvel about what he said. He was all too happy to explain it as said in verse 16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Man can’t go back into the womb, but God came down to earth. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary of Nazareth. God’s son was conceived.
We couldn’t save ourselves. We can be traced back to our surname Adam. What we couldn’t do for ourselves, God sent Jesus to do. Where we fail, the family of God never fails. Every step Jesus took was ours. Every temptation you face, Jesus faced. Everything you face as a son of Adam, Jesus faced. His only difference was his Father was God. He was totally the son of God and son of Adam. He lived a sinless life.
The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. Jesus tasted that death for us so we could have a Savior. John 1:11-12 says He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Though in this Adam body, by believing in Jesus we are adopted into the family of God. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. You don’t have to suffer Adam’s curse forever. You have a choice. You can be born again and become a child of God with a new last name.
Are you satisfied with your last name? You shouldn’t be. I’m not talking about Adam. Jesus came to make you part of his family. You will be recreated from the inside out and become a child of God. Bobby Gene Surber is me from the family of Adam. Now I’m in the family of God. You can be birthed into a new family. Be born again.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 